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I'm a lefty in a right hand world!!! Lefty's Unite!

4K views 22 replies 15 participants last post by  al. 
#1 ·
I'm tired of being kept down by the masses!!! I went for the hype that I might actually play better on a right handed guitar, so my axe points east.

I'm new so it doesn't feel too weird but I'm having difficulty strumming the right string. I figure that this is a new skill that I have train my brain for but I was curious if others are in the same boat.

Any other lefties out there playing right handed guitars?
How has it worked for you? Do you think it's easier having more control at the frets? Did you get past the weakness in your strumming hand?

Did you revolt and go back or give up all together?
 
#19 ·
When I read the original post I was all ready to post up a "oh, me too!" reply but Andy got here first ;)

The give away with me that really shows up on videos is that I have my right hand pinkie touching the body (or scratchplate) nearly all the time. I use it as a loose anchor to keep a check on where my right hand is all the time. I also hold the pick with my thumb and first two fingers to keep it under control.

If you fancy sticking right handed playing I'd fully recommend searching out some of Paul Gilberts' instructional videos (there's some examples on youtube). I've seen him do a lesson on right hand alternate picking where the left hand only plays four notes over two strings and the rest of the concentration goes on the right hand. Not only is Paul a fantastic player but he's a realy great teacher and has helped me loads.

Eggy
 
#3 ·
I'm a lefty and play right handed. Although I'm a little more ambidextrous than most.. (Throw with my left but play bat/racket sports with my right ...don't ask)

But yes, playing right handed was a conscious decision for me because I knew that it would just make things easier for me in the long run. Afer all, guitar playing requires you to use BOTH hands. In fact, you might say that you're doing all the hard stuff with your LEFT hand on a right handed guitar, and certainly finger strength is most important in this hand.

I do wonder what might have been if i decided to play the southpaw way though.

Some people get around it in interesting ways. Check out Thorsten Koehne, he started off playing a right handed guitar upside down, but kept the strings as they were. Now he plays lefty bodies, but the strings are all upside-down:

 
#8 ·
I think it takes far more control to pick then to fret, which is why really good right handed guitarists are, well, picking with there right hand. So a lefty playing right handed is actually at a disadvantage.

Yes http://www.southpawguitars.com/ is still around, but they don't deal as much in electrics as they do in acoustics. Although they have some sick Jacksons. Oh, and they are very pricey..which is why I go to Drum City..

And doing it the "Dick Dale" way is nutty, thats actually how I started playing too..
 
#10 ·
I can't fingerpick worth $hit anyways ;) But I have fairly good control over alt picking, economy picking and I've pretty much mastered pinch harmonics. The hardest thing I find, but i'm getting better at because i'm focusing on it more, is going from 1-2-4 to 1-3-4 fingerings fast. Ring finger is the weakest of them all, and because of that I got used to playing 1-2-3 fingers for 1-3-4 fingering back in the day and I know thats wrong now and trying to get out of that habit is stupid hard.
 
#11 ·
I've always wondered why leftys would go for a left handed guitar, obviously that sounds stupid but when you think about it when you pick up a guitar for the first time, neither hand has any experience with fretting or picking and both are skills that grow together.

So i always thought if I was a lefty I'd go for a right handed guitar for the reasons already mentioned, you have a much wider choice of guitars ... that and left hand guitars just look a little weird to me, though if in a mirror it would look right (not that i pose in front of the mirror with my guitar!)


honost i dont!! and i dont put shades on too! ... or wear lingerie!

:)
 
#12 ·
I've always wondered why leftys would go for a left handed guitar, obviously that sounds stupid but when you think about it when you pick up a guitar for the first time, neither hand has any experience with fretting or picking and both are skills that grow together.

:)
It just felt a lot better, and trust me I tried both, and I had no coordination when playing right handed. It all comes down to the brain, and I proved it to myself, whenever I'm at a a keyboard, no matter how much I know that the key go from right to left bass to treble, my brain can't comprehend that, it always thinks its the opposite, keys were my first instrument and that was exactly why I couldn't play it very well.
 
#13 ·
thanks for the insight Robb, I've never known someone who plays left handed before so never had that explained. I wonder if there are left handed keyboards available anywhere, or brass instruments, can you get left handed versions of them where the 'buttons' (probably wrong technical term :) ) face the other way?
 
#15 ·
I'm mainly a lefty but quite ambidextrous with other things like playing my Ibby's normally... I tried classical finger picking and got to a point of slight coordination but lost interest when my right hand wasn't quite keeping up with my left hand's dexterity which can do sweeps, taps, and all that fun stuff :p
But I have to agree with Lefty about pick control; its probably much easier for righty's.

btw... are two-handed tap players considered ambidextrious?

Reg
 
#20 ·
Thanks for the support. I've been working at it for a few weeks now. I've got a home DVD course and it's coming along pretty well. I still get mad at my strumming hand when I miss a string but working with a metronome has helped because it keeps me from trying to play to fast and helps me focus on coordinating fret-n-strum. I think fo me its a simple case of wanting to play better than I am.
 
#21 ·
Re: I'm a lefty in a right hand world!!!

In case your curious, I've now been playing for about 6 months as a righty. I find that my strumming hand is a little limited but I do enjoy the extra dexterity on the fretboard. Bar cords are hard and my pinky still floats around on its own most of the time but I do find that making cords is more difficult than strumming. I dont finger pick and I'll probably have difficulty doing that too. If you are lefty playing right, keep it going. As hard as it was to strum the high E string on the first fret in lesson 1. Practice and time will get you playing pentatonic scales and bar cords. I've got lots to go but I dont even think about palying lefty anymore.
 
#23 ·
im right handed and play left, im a little ambidextrus i guess

i play left handed cause it was a lot more comfortable to play this way and when i picked up a gutiar for the first time thats the way i held it naturally and started to play, even tho the guy in the shop said i was playing it wrong! ...u hold it the other way, but yeah i said no way jose im playing it like this.... feels a lot better, so i did, i didnt know about the lefthanded awkwardness at the time, and even if i did i wudnt care, i had to play left handed regardles of anything.

Go with whats natural above all else is my advice anyways, never mind how many guitars u get to choose from, i dont think id be as good if i played right handed... i never looked back playing this way anyways... so much better
 
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